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July 30, 2008 By Fausta

Liveblogging the bloggers’ call with Ambassador Charles Shapiro on the Colombia Free Trade agreement

Ambassador Charles Shapiro is leading the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs’ Task Force for the Free Trade Agreements with Peru, Colombia and Panama.

Ambassador Shapiro opened by saying that the question he always gets is, “why would anyone oppose the agreement?” This agreement is in the interest of Colombia, of the US, and in our national security interest, so he finds that question hard to explain.

The question and answer session:
Monica Showalter of IBD: “After this administration is over & there’s a new president, the pact will actually be dead. Is that true?”
Ambassador Shapiro: The agreement stands the way it is. Our lawyers believe that what will happen is that, since the agreement has been introduced in this section of Congress, but if it was reintroduced in the next Congress it would enter under the trade promotion authority and would be no time table and would be open to amendment.
The Panama agreement, if sent to Congress, the fast track rules would apply.

Red State: “What can practically be done in this session of Congress?”
AS: Senate Finance committee is trying to link the two: trade assistance and the trade agreement. In the House they want the trade adjustment assistance through.

Jim Hoft: “Nancy Pelosi said yesterday that if Colombia makes any progress, she would recommend opening the discussion. Any comment?”
AS: What she’s doing is not closing the door but is she saying that it’d be considered, then there’s no commitment there. Colombia’s made progress and continues to make progress. Day in and day out progress. To build on that, to help, passing the agreement would add to the progress.
He won’t criticize the 1st branch of government, but the indicators of violence in Colombia are down and what you really see in Colombia lately – and the hostage rescue – is an absolute change in the people’s sense of optimism and pride in Colombia. Colombians are moving back and businesses are coming in.

Kevin Sullivan, RCP: “The deal seems like a no-brainer on the surface. Is there any diversity in the American labor movement in this issue?”
AS: At the local level, people are afraid for their jobs because of globalization, and that’s a real issue that the executive & legal branches, and academia should address because we all live in the microeconomy. We need to figure out a way to talk about people and jobs and their future, and when you explain to people that Colombia has duty free access to the US but the US doesn’t have access to Colombia, a light goes on and people understand that.

My question: Are businesses canvassing Congress to make it understand that the tarriffs American businesses have to pay are punitive?
AS: Members of Congress have heard and will continue hearing from US businesses. With the failure of the DOHA round bilateral agreements will become more important – if you can’t reach global agreement that makes bilateral agreements more important. We’re not the only game in town and sometimes folks don’t understand that Canada has a trade agreement with Colombia, and process foods from Canada will enter with – 0 – duty while ours will come in with 20% duty, and our business will go to Canada. When I was stationed in Chile, Chile had an agreement with Canada and not with the US, and our market share dropped. I don’t want us to lose market share anywhere. And it’s certainly in our national security interest to see a democratic, open maket economy be successful in Colombia.

Monica/IBD: Pres. Uribe’s privatizing businesses and there’s little union labor, Does this freeing of the markets have any influence on the AFL-CIO’s opposition? Would free trade allow more energy production?
AS: The 2 big labor confederations are primarily public sector unions and are not directly affected by the trade agreement. They oppose this agreement because they oppose Alvaro Uribe. How does it help Colombian energy production? Coal comes duty free but Colombian ethanol will come in duty free (there’s a .54 duty on Brazilian ethanol).
How about the Caterpillar equipment they use?
The equipment will be less expensive. The coal will stay at current market prices.
The big game – oil comes in duty free. In Colombia, because of the improved security and the business climate foreign oil companies are much more willing to invest in Colombia and are doing so at a rapid pace.

UPDATE, Thursday 31 July
Gateway Pundit posted about the call, too.

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July 24, 2008 By Fausta

Back from the Zephyr

I made it home last night.

The only problem were the train delays. As I mentioned earlier, passenger trains must wait for freight trains and there is only one track in each direction (for brief parts of the trip there is only one track), so you must expect delays. There was one delay I didn’t expect, however. Yesterday afternoon the train left Philadelphia during a huge rainstorm, and then the train stopped somewhere between Philadelphia and Trenton for over an hour. I was glad I wasn’t in an airplane trying to land in Philadelphia or Newark.

What we didn’t know was that the storm had knocked out power for central New Jersey, which affected the train lines. Trains were backed up in both directions of the Eastern Corridor. When we finally got to Trenton at 6:45 I waited for the 4:45 train to Princeton Junction. You know it must have been something when a guy from the NJ PBS affiliate, NJN news, was walking down the platform getting soundbites.

Will I do it again? Absolutely, yes. I’ll probably fly to either Chicago or Colorado and then ride the Zephyr. It is an extraordinary experience. I just got this comment from Melissa, who I met in the train,

Fausta,
My husband Tim and I had the pleasure of dining with you on the zephyr this week and we wanted to tell all of the cynics out there that a trainride should be experienced by everyone at least once in your life. I don’t even consider myself an outdoor person, but when you see the sights on the train, the only word that can describe it is majestic. We live in the city and usually drive from california to denver but, on the train, you get to see the “Real America” that we tend to forget about. It’s also a very nostalgic experience that my husband and i will have for the rest of our lives. Who’s waxing nostalgic in an overcrowded airplane or when fueling at the pump. Who I ask you? WHO?

It was a wonderful journey.

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July 21, 2008 By Fausta

The third Monday in July Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

I’m still on the road but the Carnival goes on! Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. If you would like your posts included in next week’s carnival please email me: faustaw2 “at” gmail “dot” com.

LATIN AMERICA
The New Battlefield in Latin America

La Raza to the bottom

ARGENTINA
Argentina blocks farm export tax

BRAZIL
Mending an icon: How Rio’s first good governor in decades is starting to renew Brazil’s most famous city

COLOMBIA
SWISS HELP FARC COVER UP ITS OWN BLUNDER

FARC, Chavez y Correa: el trio del terror

Love fest: Presidents Chávez and Uribe agree to bury the hatchet—for now

Hard Reality Of ‘Soft Power’ In Colombia

CUBA
Cuba to Allow Private Farming: Land Will Remain in Government Hands, However

The elephant in the room

ECUADOR
Ecuador assembly approves Constitution

New Ecuadorian Constitution has 494 Articles

Freedom of Speech Killed by Euthanasia in Ecuador

EL SALVADOR
Documentary on Hugo Chavez aired on Salvadoran TV (in Spanish). You can watch it in full at Fuerza Solidaria
Here’s the first part on YouTube

MEXICO
Sicarios mexicanos reciben formacion de extremistas en Iran – Terra Top-ranking Mexican criminals with military background travel to Iran via Venezuela for terrorist training.

VENEZUELA
Chavez pleads for investment as falling output fuels inflation

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez wore a suit for the occasion, and, grinning at about 300 business leaders he usually calls “oligarchs,” asked for help relieving a drought in investment.

Chavez minister anti inflation plan: Haggle!

Deadly massage : How not to tackle a soaring murder rate

Venezuela: Looking ahead

Galp to Receive 1 Million Barrels of Oil From Venezuela Hugo Chavez keeps giving away Venezuela’s wealth at our expense

AMERICAN POLITICS
In South Florida Congressional Race, Incumbent and Challenger Have the Ethnic Bases Covered

Special thanks to Maria, Eneas, Siggy, Larwyn, Pat Patterson and Judith

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July 14, 2008 By Fausta

Liveblogging: From Trenton to San Francisco by train, day two

After I signed off last evening the train arrived in Pittsburgh right on schedule, a few minutes before 8PM EDT.

Pittsburgh train station has no amenities at all and resembles the old NJ Department of Motor Vehicles office in Morristown from back in the early 1980s. They have a couple of vending machines that are probably worth something at the Antiques Roadshow, and their contents are worthy subjects for an anthropological essay on ancient foodstuffs.

I’ve had a salad in the train from Trenton and needed a hot meal, so I went out to explore.

The streets were empty – emptier than Wall Street in NYC on a Sunday morning. Another guy from the train was walking ahead of me probably also looking for a place to eat. I walked to the Westin Convention Center and went inside since the only person out on the street who didn’t just get off the train looked like a male street hustler.

The restaurant at the Westin, The Original Fishmarket Restaurant, was open and lots of the hotel guests were eating there (they probably noticed the guy at the corner across the street, too). I considered whether to order some merlot but decided against it – I had to stay away until at least midnight, way past my usual bedtime.

I ordered grilled tilapia and green beans with almonds, both of which were very good. On second thought – since it was getting dark outdoors and the neighborhood didn’t look very pleasant – I asked the waitress that she box it.

I returned to the station, finished my dinner and waited for the train while the TV played Law and Order Criminal Intent. Donofrio wasn’t in it, so I worked on my outlines for the BlogHer panels.

The train to Chicago left late and, like the train from Trenton, appeared to be booked to near-capacity. It was a double-decker train with tiny sleep compartments.

The sleep compartment was so small (how small was it?) that the (hard) cot was approx. 6′ long and the width of a first-class airline seat. I was glad to be traveling alone. If a thought had entered my mind I would have had to leave the compartment. Several elderly couples were also in the same car, and one of them must have had a heck of time clambering up to the upper berth.
(“Come on, Madge, let me give you a hand up!”
“Hand up my a** Burt, YOU take the upper one”)

Cary Grant would have never been able to hide in one.

The train bumped, ground, throttled, jumped, and honked its way at full speed over hundreds of track switches while us passengers lying on the tough cots held on for dear life as the jumps ground our bones into their sockets. It was

SHAKE
RATTLE
AND ROLLall the way trough Indiana. At 5:30AM CDT I gave up on any hope of fitful sleep, washed, and got dressed. The train was shaking so hard there was no chance of reading anything.

Had breakfast at the dining room where I was seated with a retired math teacher from Chicago who was back from vacationing in Washington, DC. She told me that she thought “all bloggers were narcissists who think so much of their own opinions that they believe the whole world wants to hear about them.” I heartily agreed with her and handed her my business (blog) card. She was a very nice lady and of course she’s right.

After breakfast the train slowed to a crawl since many freight trains had priority and I had a chance to nap. We were 1:15 minutes late in arriving in Chicago.

This stretch of the trip illustrates why it’d be so difficult to have an American rail system comparable to Europe’s:

The distances in the US are vastly larger than Europe’s. In Europe you ride a train for 9 hours and have traveled through three countries. In the US, you’re barely making it across Pennsylvania and Oregon.
The passenger trains share the tracks with the freight trains. In Europe, fast-speed passenger trains have exclusive use of their tracks. Fast-speed train tracks have to be meticulously inspected before and after each train, and must be impeccably maintained.
The US is much more sparsely populated than Europe. Higher population density brings about the higher volume necessary to sustain a train line.

Whoever tells you that long-distance rail travel will be practical for travel across the USA better come up with a solution to all these issues at the same time. Until they do, air and car travel are they way to go.

I am now enjoying some peace and quiet at the Amtrak Lounge in Chicago, praying that there is much less bounce to tonight’s journey. The lounge is comfortable, well lit, air conditioned and has electrical sockets for laptops.

The train station is the locale for The Untouchables’s baby carriage scene (which Brian de Palma borrowed from Battleship Potenkim). You can see part of it in this trailer:

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Crossposted

July 12, 2008 By Fausta

Tony Snow

Former newsman and White House press secretary Tony Snow died this morning of complications from colon cancer. He was 53 years old. Fox News is breaking the story right now.

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July 10, 2008 By Fausta

France24 video: Colombia’s elite troops fighting the FARC

Via A Colombo-Americana’s Perspective video report Colombia’s elite troops fighting the FARC

Alavaro Uribe made the fight against the FARC the cornerstone of his presidency. Colombia’s elite troops are in charge of defeating the guerrillas in the heart of the jungle.

In March reporters Ibar Aibar and Sebastian Dufour followed the Colombian military’s special armed forces, forces responsible for carrying out President Alvaro Uribe fight againt the FARC. They were also the ones who liberated Ingrid Betancourt.

These hand-picked men were trained by the U.S. military and are well-equipped. They track FARC leaders across the thick Colombian jungle. For days on end they hike across mountain passes that are 3, 000 metres high carrying 50 kilogramme-backpacks, braving rain and mud, eating monkey meat and remaining primed for battle at all times. But those times of battle are becoming increasingly rare.

“We control the areas where the guerillas have gathered their weapon reserves, their food and their medical supplies,” says Colonel Luis Gomez, adding that the FARC is pulling back as more and more people defect from their ranks.

The Colombian army extracts information from these defectors. Military forces would be useless without this in a zone where thermal cameras alone cannot track rebels.

Ibar Aibar has seen a “Colombian army which is extremely hardened.” Four months after filming he is not surprised by the army’s latest exploit: the liberation of Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages.

Click on the video above to watch this special edition of “Reporters”

This is a must-watch.

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July 8, 2008 By Fausta

FARC you, say Howes, Stansell and Gonsalves

John Hinderaker posts the possibility that Nancy Pelosi was indirectly contacting the FARC for a hostages-for-terrorists swap. Hindreaker states,

If this report is correct, Nancy Pelosi was carrying on her own foreign policy in opposition to that of the United States, trying to work with the socialist Hugo Chavez and the Communist FARC terrorists to undermine America’s ally, Colombia. In normal times, this would be unthinkable. Given the crazed state of today’s Democratic party, I’m not so sure.

Considering that this information was found in the FARC computers and that Nancy has been known to carry out her own brand of Hermes scarf diplomacy, this is not mere speculation on John’s (or Mary O’Grady‘s) part.

Colombian president Alvaro Uribe is well aware of Nancy’s duplicity and has called her bluff at least once.

Complicit also with the FARC are many of the NGOs – so much so that the FARC didn’t question that an NGO would facilitate the helicopter used by the Colombian army to carry out the rescue.

The spotlight rightly belongs to the former hostages. Flopping Aces has the video of Marc Gonsalves speaking at yesterday’s press conference:

Gonsalves said,

“I have seen how even their own gorillas commit suicide in a desperate attempt to escape the slavery that the FARC had condemned them to.

The majority of the FARC forces are children and young adults. They come from extreme poverty and have very little or no education. Many of them can’t even read. So they’re usually tricked into joining the FARC and they’re brainwashed into believing that their cause is a just cause.”

Keith Stansell proposed marriage last May to his girlfriend while he was still a captive, through another hostage who was released earlier,

But in a hopeful twist to Colombia’s bleak kidnapping saga, Stansell, 43, grasped on the recent release of a fellow hostage, Colombia’s former lawmaker Luis Eladio Perez, to carry the marriage proposal to his girlfriend.

Medina met the lawmaker at an airport, amid a throng of well-wishers, soon after his release. She had approached him for any scrap of information about her hostage boyfriend.

Instead, Perez plucked a flower from a bouquet he was holding and handed it to her. He proposed on Stansell’s behalf.

“The tears came out of me… and he hugged me,” recalled Medina, 36, a petite brunette who lives in Bogota and met Stansell on the job, as an air hostess. “I was sleepwalking, with the rose.”

She said yes.

Thomas Howes has reunited with his family

The Americans, including Marc Gonsalves and Keith Stansell, were taken hostage after their light aircraft crashed in the jungle on a counternarcotics operation. A fourth contractor, Tom Janis, was killed by the FARC shortly after the crash, the company said.

I believe Keith Stansell is the man in the video I translated who said to the reporter,

“Tell my family, my family, the whole world.”

The FARC is still holding 700 innocent people hostage. Ingrid Betancourt is exhorting Uribe to “rectify [his] radical, extremist, vocabulary of hate.” Undoubtedly suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, Betancourt would do well instead to insist that the FARC release all their hostages or suffer the consequences of their horrible crimes.

(special thanks to Larwyn and VCrisis)

IN TODAY’S PODCAST at 11AM Eastern
Our guest Jon Perdue, director of Latin American studies programs of the Fund for American Studies, will talk about the hostage release and what it means for the region.

Chat opens at 10:45AM and the call-in number is 646 652-2639. Join us!